3 Takeaways from Savannah Bailey
I sat down with Savannah Bailey of GatorMade and here are my 3 takeaways.
Savannah Bailey leads GatorMade for the Florida Football Team. Her team has created incredible tangible impact and value for the student-athletes they serve and lead.
The podcast episode will drop on April 3rd, and I am so excited for you to listen to one of the speakers who will be at the 2024 Player Development Conference. YES, the FIRST SPEAKER REVEAL is in your inbox. More information on this in this newsletter.
Here are my three takeaways from my conversation with Savannah Bailey:
Micro Intentionality
When discussing how she got into the player development role, Savannah shared her method to getting connected and in front of people. She shares that she emailed everyone on staff and asked if they could help her with an assignment. The assignment was fictional, but she got many responses as she connected her outcome with another person’s input. She also changed her jogging route to be in front of athletics building so people would be familiar with her face when she made contacts. Hearing this had me like WOW, but it connected with her background in microbiology. She broke her get in the door strategy down to a science.
Don’t Give Yourself a Ceiling
Savannah had a great quote when speaking about roles and responsibilities. She said don’t give yourself a ceiling before someone else does. In addition to this she spoke about being in the intern/coordinator role, she mentioned the well-known adage nothing should be beneath you. To this she added no task can feel to above you as well, this is GOLD. She mentioned in the role she could take out trash if needed, but also address the team when needed. To those who are starting and wanting to get in the role, prepare yourself for the times you will be called where you may think a task is above you.
Put Ownership on Alumni
Savannah mentioned in the role some asked how she could lead this aspect of the program as she was not a Gator and didn’t know the “Gator Way”. She would then flip it on them and say well can you show our players the things they need to know. By doing this Savannah has increased alumni engagement in regards to player development. I love the way she approached this situation, I lead player development at two universities I didn’t graduate from and I would’ve love this response. Now, no one came out and said it to me, but I could feel it at one university for sure.
Putting ownership on the alumni gives them two options: help or don’t.
This episode with Savannah Bailey will go LIVE tomorrow wherever you listen to podcast!
2024 Player Development Conference
As mentioned earlier, Savannah Bailey will be speaking at the 2024 Player Development Conference.
She will be speaking on creating a department like she has with GatorMade for Florida Football. She will be giving incredible advice on how you can create a department as well.
Get your tickets for the 2024 Player Development Conference below.